PDP To Institute Legal Action Against Bauchi State Govt, APC

PDP To Institute Legal Action Against Bauchi State Govt, APC

PDP To Institute Legal Action Against Bauchi State Govt, Bauchi – The Bauchi State chapter Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed to institute a legal action against the Bauchi State government and All Progressive Congress (APC) for allegedly rigging the just concluded Bauchi South Senatorial by-election.

Addressing a press conference at the PDP secretariat in Bauchi on Monday, the state Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Hamza Akuyam, who was flanked by the party bearer, Ladan Saliu, described the election as the worst in the history of elections in the country.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared APC candidate, Lawal Yahaya Gumau, as the winner of last Saturday senatorial bye-election having pooled a total votes of 119,489 to defeat the PDP candidate Ladan Saliu, who pooled 50,256.

According to PDP chairman, “The win-at-all cost and by all means attitude of the Bauchi State government poses a clear and present danger of our democracy. It is unacceptable and can be accepted only at our own peril. The party will institute a legal action through the establishment mechanism of the law”.

Akuyam also accused officials of INEC and security agencies of conniving with the state government to rig the election, saying, “It is regrettable that the state office of INEC became a theatre of electoral malpractice and manipulation where figures were scandalous re-jigged to favour APC. This was done without any consideration for voters who stood in queues for long, some traveled miles and braved extreme conditions only for officials to disenfranchise them with a stroke of the pen, this is unacceptable.”

According to him, the state government perfected the election rigging, which he alleged was rehearsed and executed with active connivance of law enforcement agencies and officials of INEC.

He also alleged that vote buying was widespread and done in the open noting, “The APC-led government in the state openly lured citizens with cash for their votes, which were sold for anything between N100, N200, N500, N1,000 and in some cases N5000 per vote. Simply put, the ballot paper became the most sought-after commodity in the senatorial zone. This shameless act was responsible for the low-turnout of voters, especially women and youth who refused to vote until they got paid or settled. In some voting centres security officials chased away voters and agents even before voting process and counting were conducted”.